Want to sell to big firms? Then act like one

For many small business owners, selling to a big company is an uphill battle. For one thing, corporate purchasing managers may feel they're taking a risk by using small vendors.

For many small business owners, selling to a big company is an uphill battle. For one thing, corporate purchasing managers may feel they're taking a risk by using small vendors.

"There's a saying that 'Nobody ever got fired for hiring IBM,'" says Peter S. Cunningham, president of Cunningham & Co., a Chicago public relations and marketing firm. "Big companies often are more comfortable buying from other big companies that have a reputation and track record. It's a real challenge for small business owners to be heard through the clutter."

The best way to do that is to act like a big company: Bring overwhelming resources to the table, demonstrate the skill of your staff and offer a competitive price.

Meet four small business owners who had the right strategy to sell to big companies.

Kevin Duffy wasn't deterred when Budget Rent-A-Car refused to meet with him the first time. When his design studio moved to new offices in August 2000, he sent Budget a moving announcement and a few samples of his firm's work via FedEx, which he figured would show off his design capabilities and remind the company that Duffy Design still existed.

The next day, at four in the afternoon, Mr. Duffy got a call from a Budget marketing executive, asking for a meeting the next day. The next morning, Mr. Duffy was pitching Budget's decisionmakers in their offices and landing a new account for Duffy Design Works.

"It wasn't just our creativity that helped us secure Budget's business  it was our responsiveness, too," says Mr. Duffy, 41, whose privately held company provides graphic services to small and medium-sized companies, as well as some Fortune 500 operations. "A big, out-of-town agency would have to plan a meeting a few days or weeks in advance. I think Budget was willing to take a risk on us because we got there immediately."

Budget hired Mr. Duffy's firm to handle a variety of small projects, including brochure design and strategic planning, that cost $5,000 each. But it wasn't long before Mr. Duffy signed a multimillion dollar contract to manage the process by which Budget procured all of its printing services. Duffy Design eventually lost the Budget business in 2003, when Budget was acquired by Cendant Corp. and moved to New Jersey. But he managed to hang on to it for as long as he did by keeping the same level of responsiveness he showed in winning the business.

"At the drop of a hat, three of our senior people would be at their offices in 20 minutes," he says. "Budget was a big fish in our small pond, so they got our top creative minds working full-time on their projects."

c|change inc.

Hugh Schulze

In designing promotional materials for pharmaceutical behemoths like Baxter International Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co., Hugh Schulze has learned how to make his business seem indispensable, even to multibillion-dollar global organizations. The key to that, Mr. Schulze says, is demonstrating the kind of competence and cost savings usually attributed to bigger shops. By using a freelance network of 25 to 30 people and keeping just six people in-house, he keeps payroll expenses down and ensures that he gets the applicable expertise for each project.

"We can get the right person on the right job," he says.

And he's always sure to emphasize his small firm's economic advantages. "We aren't paying for elevators and tall buildings," says Mr. Schulze, whose firm makes print, video and interactive materials. "We can move a little more nimbly than a company with a set structure in place."

The model seems to be working. c|change, which was founded in 2002, saw revenue increases of $250,000 every year for its first three years, and the company anticipates a 15% to 20% increase this year.

Landgraf's Ltd.

Jason Landgraf

Since he took over his family's Aurora office-furniture dealership in 2001, Jason Landgraf, 35, has expanded its client base from small customers that spent no more than $100,000 per project to big hospitals, including Resurrection Health Care system, and government agencies that shell out up to $1.5 million on a single project.

He did it with a three-step process, starting by forming an alliance with his manufacturers. Executives and sales staff from furniture makers like Teknion and Kimball Office accompany him on sales calls. "By presenting ourselves as a united team, we increased our credibility," he says.

Next, Mr. Landraf studied the market to look for niches that his larger competitors might be overlooking. He discovered that hospitals were underserved, probably because they have very specific requirements for fabric and durability. "We developed an expertise in this market, so we know which furniture will work for a hospital and how they'll use it," he says.

Finally, Landgraf's got certified with the Government Services Administration in Washington, D.C., which allows it to sell to government agencies nationwide  a market that many of the big furniture dealerships have ignored. "It was a rigorous, six-month application process," he says. "But it was a very fair process  and it's helped us grow." In the past year, Landgraf's sales to government agencies have gone from $30,000 to more than $2 million.

Meanwhile, the company's overall sales have reached $15 million, up from $9 million when Mr. Landgraf took over four years ago. His advice to entrepreneurs looking to crack big companies' purchasing departments: "Don't be defensive about being a small business. As long as you have the technical expertise and the right employees, you can use your small size as an advantage."

Michael FitzSimmons Decorative Arts

Michael FitzSimmons

Michael FitzSimmons used an intermediary decorator to sell to Hilton Hotels Corp. The decorator gives him someone to form a bond with; he hopes that will keep business coming from Hilton. Photo: Todd Winters

Sometimes the best way to sell to a corporate giant is through a middleman. Michael FitzSimmons, proprietor of the only gallery and purveyor of Arts and Crafts period works in the city, recently sold architectural items to Hilton Hotels Corp. for placement in common areas, but he's never dealt with anybody at the $4-billion (sales) hotel chain.

He used an intermediary decorator hired by Hilton. Which is just fine with him  the decorator is local, easy to reach and gives Mr. FitzSimmons someone to form a bond with. That, he hopes, will help him keep Hilton's business coming. If he were working directly with the Beverly Hills, Calif.-based hotel company, he realizes, it would be hard to develop a relationship with anyone.

"Who are you going to call at Hilton?" asks Mr. FitzSimmons. "Are you going to call them up and ask, 'Who buys art there?' Click."

He has stern advice for businesses looking to get a piece of large projects.

"These are multimillion-dollar projects and you're just a tiny component of it," Mr. FitzSimmons says. "You've got to be sure that you don't drop the ball anywhere."